specter
56
8.6
- noun
- /ˈspɛktər/
- US
:
fantasma
- And that raises the specter that good exists at least as the opposite of whatever evil is.
The spider webs, the spiders, the ghouls, the goblins, the spectres.
- The spider webs, the spiders, the ghouls, the goblins, the spectres.
Examples
-
Legend has it that a specter of a woman in white can be seen near the old graveyard during full moons.
-
Sure enough, when he looked again, the specter was nowhere to be seen.
Fiction book (1992) -
We saw that deadly specter.
-
A specter of death.
-
Above the creatures he'd seen the haunting specter of a framed picture of Jesus.
Fiction book (1991) -
The specters of these past cultural collisions still haunt the Tlingits today.
Academic text (2009) -
The northwoods area of sleepy hollow has long been known as a place densely populated by spirits and specters of every imaginable shape and size.
-
In the haunted house, a specter appeared suddenly, causing everyone to scream in terror.
-
The villagers spoke in hushed tones about the specter that wandered through the forest at night.
Synonyms
527
7.0
A ghost or supernatural being that can appear to people
81
6.7
A ghost or spirit that people think they see
41
6.8
A ghost or invisible being people believe causes harm and bad luck
19
8.9
A ghost that people see suddenly
18
9.7
A ghost that makes loud noises and moves things
11
4.7
A ghost believed to frighten people
4
9.9
A thing that seems real but is only in the mind, like a ghost
1
9.9
A frightening ghost that appears at night
1
9.9
A ghost-like figure that seems real but is not
1
9.5
A spirit without a body that appears to people or stays near places
A ghost that appears to people
A ghost or spirit people think appears in places
Compounds
A strong, worrying feeling that you are not sure you can trust someone or something
How Scary
- Literature
509
5.3
- Literature
18
9.7
- US
56
8.6
11
4.7
929
3.0
- Literature
19
8.9
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word specter comes from the Latin spectrum and the root spec- meaning 'an appearance' and 'to look'. You can see the same spec- in words like inspect and spectator, which are about looking. Because it first meant a strange appearance, a ghost that shows itself is called a specter.